The Toy Snatcher

It all started with my crayons. My big box of 64, with the sharpener on the back! I love coloring blank pictures. So whenever I had free time it was my favorite activity. But that Sunday morning I could not find them. They were gone. Vanished. Disappeared.

I normally kept them in a drawer under my study desk. I looked everywhere. Under my bed, in my closet, even in my parent’s closet (which was a VERY bad idea, and Mom got mad). But they were just... gone.

Then, I remembered the movie. The one about the Toy Snatcher. It was about this creepy monster with long fingers who sneaked into houses and stole kids' toys and other belongings. Even when I was watching that movie I felt worried at the thought of it entering my room and now my crayons were gone. My gut feeling told me it had to be him. The Toy Snatcher got my crayons!

But I was determined to get them back. In the movie a young boy of eight years, just like myself, had managed to get his toys back. He had first figured out how the monster got in the house and then set traps to catch it before it could get to his toys. I had to do the same. I had to find out how he got in. I became a detective. I checked all the doors, but they were locked. Then, I went into the living room. The window! It was large enough for a large monster to come through it. That was it! That's how he entered the house and stole my crayons!

But I wasn't going to let him get away with it. I thought for a while what I could do to stop this monster. I was not particularly crafty when it came to building stuff. In the movie the boy had built an elaborate trap which pinned the monster to the floor and stopped him from moving. That was not a possibility for me. But I came up with a super-duper clever plan. I sneaked into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of cooking oil. Mom uses it for frying stuff. I carefully poured it all over the floor right under the window. It was slippery and shiny. Perfect! When that monster came back for more toys, he'd slip and fall. It would make a loud noise and then with the help of my parents I would be able to catch him!

That night, I was lying on my bed, waiting. It was dark and spooky, and I was a little bit scared, but I knew I had to be brave. My parents were not in on my plan. I was counting on them to wake up as soon as the monster crashed on the floor, making a loud noise. But there was a possibility they may not wake up. So I had my dad's old baseball bat, just in case.

An hour passed by but nothing happened. I did not know when the monster would arrive. Maybe it had delayed its arrival in the hope that I would fall asleep. But I was determined to catch it even if I had to stay awake the whole night. I did not have to wait too long. In another 15 minutes I heard a creaking noise from the living room as if someone was opening the window. Even though the window was locked from the inside the monster was able to open it. Maybe it knew some magic or it was great at picking windows.

I waited anxiously with the baseball bat ready in my hand. the sound I was hoping to hear finally came - a loud THUD, as the monster crashed on the floor exactly as I expected. This was immediately followed by another sound of something metallic falling on the floor. He must have toppled over the metal showpiece which was kept on a table close to the window, as he fell down. These two sounds were enough to wake up my parents as I heard their footsteps approaching the living room. I jumped up from my bed, my heart pounding like a drum. "We got him!" I yelled, and ran into the living room carrying the baseball bat with me.

Dad and mom ran into the living room, looking all sleepy and confused. But instead of a monster, there was a... a man! He had a black mask pulled over his head so I could not see his face. He was on the floor, slipping and sliding, trying to get up. It was somewhat scary to see this intruder in our house but at the same time his struggle to get back to his feet was hilarious. As soon as Dad noticed this man, he jumped on the man to pin him down on the floor. My dad used to play baseball back in his college days and he still had quite powerful arms. So he was able to hold down the man without much trouble. I on the other hand was pulled aside by my mother into a protective embrace. My baseball bat was still in my hands but seemed quite useless.

Mom called the police, and they came with flashing lights and loud sirens within a few minutes. They took the man away in their car. It was all very confusing. Why hadn't the monster turned up? Was this man in black mask in cahoots with the monster? These questions troubled me as the police questioned my parents about the incident.

Later, after all the excitement died down, Mom and Dad were talking in the kitchen. "Who put oil on the floor?" Mom asked, sounding confused. I was not sure if I should tell the truth or simply stay quiet. After all, I did not wish to get scolded for creating a mess on the floor. But then again I needed help in catching the monster. Maybe if I told them I had helped them catch the thief they might help me in return.

I walked into the kitchen and with a meek voice announced "I did!". I told them all about the Toy Snatcher and my plan to catch him.

At first, they looked at each other with wide eyes. Then, they started to laugh. Like, a lot. I didn't really get why it was so funny.

"There's no such thing as a Toy Snatcher, sweetie," Dad said, wiping his eyes. "But you sure did catch a real bad guy. You helped save our house!"

Mom hugged me super tight. "You're our little hero," she said.

Later they tucked me into my bed. As they walked away I wondered how they were so sure that the Toy Snatcher did not exist. At the same time if they were so confident I was willing to believe them. But that left me with the question - who had taken my crayons? Suddenly I remembered.

A couple of days ago I was in the living room coloring a picture book with my crayons. I lost track of time and then it was time to go to school. The school bus was waiting outside and the driver was honking impatiently. In my rush to leave I did not have the time to put the crayons back in their regular place so instead I just placed them underneath the cushion of the sofa in the living room. I do not know why I did that but somehow it felt wrong to just leave them in the open. In hindsight it was a stupid thing to do. It is not a place where people would normally keep anything including myself so when I was searching for the crayons I never looked over there.

Now that I knew where they were I had to get them back. I slowly got out of my bed and tiptoed towards the living room. I lifted the cushion of the sofa seat and behold, my crayons were there just the way I had left them a couple of days ago. Back in my room the crayons were put away in the drawer under my study desk. As I went to bed I felt a sense of relief, no longer worried about the Toy Snatcher.